Bears capture team titles, records fall at MIL championships

Robert Collias

Staff Writer

rcollias@mauinews.com

Kaipo Acain of Baldwin High School smiles after receiving his gold medal for winning the boys 50-yard freestyle Saturday at the MIL championships at Kihei Aquatic Center. -- The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

KIHEI — On a day when four individuals bettered Maui Interscholastic League records, Baldwin High School capped a dominant showing at the MIL swimming and diving championship with one more record-setting mark.

Kaimilani Matsumoto, Bailey Augustine, Rebecca Buenrostro-Gallimore and Kylie Carter touched in 3 minutes, 41.68 seconds to win the girls 400-yard freestyle relay Saturday at Kihei Aquatic Center, trimming more than two seconds off the old all-Maui mark of 3:43.80 set by the Bears last year.

It was a fitting end as the Baldwin girls won their 10th league title in a row and the Bears’ boys won for the seventh straight season. Baldwin scored 65 points in the girls meet, 13 more than Maui Prep, while the Baldwin boys piled up 76 points, more than double the 37 scored by second-place Lahainaluna.

“It is a great day,” Baldwin coach Leighton Hao said. “They know what they wanted, they know what they needed to do, and what had to happen in order for them to win the titles again.”

Matsumoto set the tone early for the Bears with an all-Maui record in the 200 individual medley, finishing in 2:07.57 to best the 2:08.27 that Lahainaluna’s Lexi Anderson swam last year. Matsumoto also won the 100 breaststroke.

“I’m kind of happy about it, I was pretty pleased with my swim,” said Matsumoto, a junior who missed her lifetime best in the 200 IM by about a second. “I was not (thinking about the record). I was just hoping that I could cut some time because I haven’t been swimming as good, so I was really hoping that I could cut time.”

The relay record came just minutes after Maui High freshman Jordynn Brown broke Buenrostro-Gallimore’s record in the 100 backstroke set last year.

“That was great, it’s so great being with the girls and swimming with the girls and doing something as a team,” Matsumoto said. “I was really, really happy and I’m really proud of all of them. It was a real strong finish for the girls.”

The K. Mark Takai State Championships will be at the same Kihei Aquatic Center facility on Feb. 9-10.

Senior Kaipo Acain was the only individual winner for the Baldwin boys Saturday, as he placed first in the 50 and 100 freestyles.

“Pretty exciting to come in first, something I’ve always been practicing for,” said Acain, who rang up his third and fourth individual MIL crowns. “Pretty excited for states here because I’m pretty used to this pool.”

Maui Prep’s Slater Fleck and King Kekaulike’s Austin DeCambra also won two individual events — Fleck placed first in the 200 (1:49.66) and 500 (5:01.95) freestyles, and DeCambra won the 100 butterfly (54.50) and 100 breaststroke (1:00.08).

Brown posted a lifetime best of 57.53 in the 100 backstroke to break Buenrostro-Gallimore’s mark by 0.01 seconds. Buenrostro-Gallimore was second on Saturday in 58.16.

“That’s awesome, it’s so cool,” Brown said of the record. “I was not thinking about that (record) at all. A lot of confidence for states, I feel so much more motivated. I know I can do it at states.”

The other record to fall was bettered by two swimmers — Maui Prep senior Kysha Altura, a double state champion last year, had a time of 51.85 to win the girls 100 free, an event she does not swim often. Aniston Eyre of King Kekaulike was second in 52.03, also below the former record of 52.42 that Altura set last year.

Altura, who has already signed a swimming scholarship agreement with Fordham University, won the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle last year at state. She won the 200 free as well on Saturday.

“I really just had a different aspect of the swimming career,” Altura said. “Different events this year. I actually have no idea what I’m going to swim at state, it’s kind of rough.”

She can’t wait to finish her storied prep career on her home island.

“My thinking was just swimming as fast as I can, get those turns and just swim my heart out because it’s my last MILs,” she said. “I want to make everyone proud, especially my mom and my dad and my sister.”